EARLY BELGIAN COLONIAL EFFORTS - The University of Texas at ...

The lack of a large army and navy was countered by the creation of the Force
Publique, a private police force and court in the field where justice and fear were
dispensed at will. The Belgian merchant marine was not a navy, but Leopold needed no
protection from other European powers, since they were also involved in pacifying their
native populations in Africa as a result of the Berlin Conference and the “Scramble for
Africa.”
Leopold I’s religious tendencies were not a driving force for him. However, the
need for basic education of the native work force attracted the attentions of the Catholic
Church and some Protestant missionaries, who assumed the task of educating the
Congolese under Leopold II. The scientific and medical revolution provided Leopold II
with the means, by virtue of superior weaponry and technology, to keep the population
under control. The now widespread use of quinine no longer made Africa the white
man’s graveyard. The failures of the father had not been lost on the son.
As previously stated, in 1839 Charles Drouet had laid out five questions that, in
his view, should be addressed before Belgium considered colonial expansion. They
were:
1. When and how is a colony useful?
2. When and how is a useful colony more of a burden than it is worth?
3. Is Belgium in a position to undertake colonial development?
4. What is the best colonial system?
5. If all of the above questions are answered satisfactorily, where does one
find a suitable area?
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